The Gary Sinise Foundation

The Gary Sinise Foundation was officially formed in 2010, and is dedicated to serving the Nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need.

Serving Honor and Need™ is the cornerstone of the foundation, which is built upon its founder's life-long principals and long standing commitment to be a citizen of action, and to help in any way that one can, the people who serve our country.

Gary's work with veterans began in the early 1980's while living in the city of Chicago. As Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre, which he co-founded in the mid 1970's, he began working on material for the theatre that had been written by a group of Vietnam veterans based on their experiences while serving there. During the rehearsals and production of the play he contacted local Vietnam veterans groups, took his cast to the local VA hospital to spend time with veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress, and began a series of free performances for veterans. While interacting with these local groups he became involved in an effort to build a Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Lansing, Illinois. The experiences of working with these groups, interacting with them during the run of the play, and having spent time discussing the war with his Vietnam veteran brothers-in-law, had a profound effect on him. Later, in 1994, he would play disabled veteran Lt. Dan Taylor in the feature film Forrest Gump and was introduced to the Disabled American Veterans organization, which he has supported ever since.

National recognition for his humanitarian and philanthropic work is vast. He is only the third actor in history to have received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest civilian honor awarded for exemplary deeds performed in service of the nation. Other awards include The Medal of Honor's Bob Hope Excellence in Entertainment Award, The Spirit of the USO Award, The Ellis Island Medal of Honor, The Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award, and the Heart of a Patriot Award from USO of Illinois. He has also received the Disabled American Veterans National Commanders Award for his role in Forrest Gump, American Veterans Disabled For Life Award for his outstanding efforts in raising public awareness on behalf of our country's disabled veterans, The Face of Valor, Superior Public Service Award, CIMA Humanitarian Award, Military Officers Association of America Distinguished Service Award, an honorable citation from the Brooklyn Borough President in NY for improving the quality of life for Brooklyn residents, and most recently the Order of Military Medical Merit for his steadfast support and contributions to Army medicine.

Gary has helped to raise millions of dollars, as well as dedicated a considerable amount of his time and personal financial resources to various military and related charities. After being contacted by numerous individuals and corporations over the years enquiring as to where would be the best place to make donations to support servicemen and their families, he realized there was a real need in community for guidance. People want to help, they just don't know how or where to start. His purpose in creating the foundation was to provide a reliable resource for people wanting to donate to programs supporting these causes, knowing that their funds would go directly to programs and organizations that have been chosen and developed based on several years of first hand experience by a credible, respected humanitarian that has personally created and developed, or worked with each and every one of the programs.

Under the umbrella of The Gary Sinise Foundation, one person is able to make a difference and join forces with a legion of supporters. "The Foundation is a strong, dependable resource to spread the 'give-back goodness'." That's what Gary Sinise wants his Foundation to do, "provide opportunities for people to give back."

Donate

You can contribute to the work of The Gary Sinise Foundation by purchasing specially designed children’s patriotic clothing with a combined logo representing both the foundation and The Tiny Soldier. To discover more ways to help, visit the foundation at garysinisefoundation.org.